


Swimming Through Sick Lullabies

by bofurrific



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Brock started off as a decent person, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Dubious Consent, Gen, HYDRA Trash Party, Hydra go home, I should be banned from both 5+1 and from listening to The Killers, M/M, Praise Kink, Steve though is always a good person, because hello it's HYDRA, even though he fucks up sometimes, not from you Brock, or Pierce, until he wasn't anymore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-06 20:37:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1871643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bofurrific/pseuds/bofurrific
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Praise Kink for the Hydra Trash Party Kink Meme</p>
<p>It's not that the soldier doesn't respond to harsh treatment; he most certainly does and the Soviets, the Germans, whoever had him before Pierce dug his claws in, made sure of that. But he responds so much better to sweet words and touches. And it's not like they were going to let that go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swimming Through Sick Lullabies

It's not that the soldier _doesn't_ respond to harsh treatment; he most certainly does and the Soviets, the Germans, whoever had him before Pierce dug his claws in, made sure of that. But he responds so much _better_ to sweet words and touches. And it's not like they were going to let that go.

 

1\.   
  
It's an intern who figures it out. The asset is fighting the chair, not yet accustomed to the clamps that pin even his metal arm in place and twitches and growls enough that some of the scientists are afraid to approach him and even Pierce's threats aren't enough to make them go.

They send an intern, a young thing too soft for this line of work and desperate enough to do whatever they tell her, to get a blood sample. She's seen the asset snap a man's neck in one fluid motion and she shakes as she walks over to him.

"Please, please be good for me," she whispers, more to herself than to him. "Be a good boy." All the same, he stills instantly and watches her with those sad dead eyes, doesn't move a muscle when she slips the needle into his vein. She pets his arm, like she would a dog being put to sleep, and thanks him for being good, and the asset slumps back with a quiet sound not unlike a whimper and allows the rest of the scientists to approach and do their job.

Pierce watches from a distance and smirks. _Interesting._

 

2\.   
  
After that, it's not that they ease up on the rough treatment of the asset so much as they begin to reward him as well. When mistakes are made, he is punished and punished severely, but when missions are completely perfectly, he gets a firm pat, maybe a blanket, a word or two of praise.

Pierce tells him what good he is doing the world and the asset looks at him like he's made of sunshine, soaks in every ounce of kindness like he's starved for it. And, well, he _is._

The asset goes so soft and pliant when Pierce tells him he's a good boy, a sweet boy, makes _asset_ sound like a name from lover's lips instead of a _thing._

He opens his mouth so prettily for the bit and leans back into the chair's hold. He knows they're going to hurt him, always tenses up, breath shaky, and whimpers a little, but he doesn't fight them anymore, so long as someone tells him he's _good._

 

3\.   
  
It's Rumlow who takes it to the field. He doesn't know anything about anything yet, just that this metal-armed soldier is the best of the best and will be joining their team. His SO tells him not to talk to him or get in his way, just sit the fuck back and let him do his job.

It's nothing short of fucking beautiful. Everything about the soldier is a work of art, fluid and powerful and _sensual_ and it's like a goddamned masterpiece. 

He's not supposed to say anything but as the asset walks past he can't help a quiet, "that was fucking _amazing,_ man. The fucking _best,_ " from leaving his lips. And the soldier stops and looks back at him and Rumlow must be some kind of stupid because he reaches out and lays a hand on the metal arm, soft and reverent, and whistles lowly. "It was a goddamned privilege to watch you." And by some miracle he gets to keep his hand.

Rumlow gets a reaming for disobeying orders, but the SO is smart and watchful and after every mission with Rumlow, the asset seems to look for him, like he's waiting for more soft words. He doesn't always get them, and it makes him try harder. Every mission goes perfectly when Rumlow is assigned to his team. The SO reports it to Pierce who gives him a frightening and thoughtful smirk, dresses him down immediately and puts Brock Rumlow, still a fuckin' rookie, in his place.

 

4.  
  
It's not really a surprise when it turns sexual, except that it took so _long_. They've all thought about it, all heard rumors about  total compliance and what that must mean out of the field, in the bedroom, specifically. 

Rumlow's a smart man, a hell of a lot smarter than most people give him credit for, and he knows exactly what praise does for their asset. It's just a matter now of how far it goes, and how far _he'll_ go to get it.

He's taken to calling the asset "sweetheart" when Pierce isn't around and the way the soldier melts a little when he says makes him feel powerful. 

Yeah, it started off an genuine praise for a job well done, but, come on. He's  only  human. Who the fuck would pass this up?

It doesn't take much to get the soldier bouncing on his cock, head thrown back. Brock lets the soldier do all the work, just tells him how pretty he is, how good he feels and the effect it has is like he's fucking the soldier's and sucking his cock at the same time for how it makes him arch and whine and beg.

Brock gets rough sometimes, pins the soldier down and doesn't bother too much with prepping him and the asset fidgets and whimpers under him until he pets that tangle of hair and tells him he's a good boy, and he goes loose and malleable, like warmed putty, in Brock's hands and on his dick.

 

5.  
  
 _"Your work has been a gift to mankind. You shaped the century."_  

The slap was for the insubordination of not listening to Pierce's demand the first time, to remind him of his place. The words are to make him soft and sweet again. 

It's the first time it doesn't work. Pierce has been doing this, dealing with the soldier, for close to forty years, and this is the first time he's ever talked back. The first time he's looked at them all like he knows they're lying. Like he doesn't want their praise anymore.

_"But I knew him."_

He still goes into the chair without fighting, but he takes the guard between his teeth like he's imagining it to be one of their throats he's ripping between his jaws.

One meeting with Steven fucking Rogers, one _word_ , the name of a man long dead and reformed into their asset, is stronger than fear, stronger than praise, stronger than their machines burning scars across the asset's brain.

He must be dealt with immediately. He is far more dangerous than they originally thought.

 

+1

 

The Bucky Barnes Steve Rogers grew up with had always toed the line between craving praise like starving man craves a hot meal and being staunchly independent and hating feeling coddled.

Steve has no idea where the soldier is on that line. He seems to respond best to things that can be perceived as orders, as much as Steve is loathe to give them to him, so he sticks with that for awhile, even though it keeps him up at night, hating himself for being just another handler.

He tries so hard to be objective when the only thing he wants to do is pull Bucky -James, as he prefers, but Steve is always slipping up because he's _Bucky_ dammit- into his arms and never let go. It's hard on both of them.

He doesn't realize he's been doing everything wrong until one night, months into the recovery, they're eating dinner. Bucky's made a breakthrough in his ability to separate the things he was forced to do as the winter soldier and who he is as a person now. 

He's pushing his food around his plate, not hungry for the first time in weeks, and he looks so sad and Steve can't figure out _why_. Everything is going so so well for them now.

Reaching across the table, Steve presses a hand over Bucky's metal arm (he needs Bucky to know he's ok with touching it) and rubs gently. "I'm so proud of you, Buck," he murmurs. "You're doing so great." The reaction is not the one he expects.

Bucky's head jerks up, his face a twisted mess of relief and disbelief and Steve's whole body aches just looking at him. When he speaks, his voice is small. "Do you mean it?" And when Steve looks confused he goes on, "I... You never said." He looks at the ground and tries to make himself small. "They told me I was good. I thought...if you hadn't. Maybe I was doing something wrong?"

And Steve nearly knocks the table over, scrambling to get where Bucky is and hold him and reassure him. He doesn't want to sound like _them_ , like Pierce and Rumlow and the rest of the HYDRA scum, but he's been doing everything _wrong_ this whole time. Bucky didn't need a damned handler, he just needed someone to tell him he was ok.

They spend the evening curled on the couch, Bucky head Steve's lap and Steve's fingers in his hair, telling him how wonderful he is and how proud he is. 

It's the best day they have so far.


End file.
